Lightening causes a power surge and leads to a fire in the datacenter. Following emergency procedures, which of the following is the FIRST thing the server administrator should do?

Turning off power might be a subsequent step, but personnel evacuation is paramount and must precede any attempts to mitigate the technical issue.

Removing backup media is a data preservation step and cannot be done before personnel safety is secured in a fire incident.

While fire suppression is critical, it should be initiated after personnel are evacuated or are safely evacuating, to avoid exposing individuals to further danger from the fire or the suppression agents.

The very first step in any emergency situation, especially one involving immediate danger such as fire, is to ensure the safety and evacuation of all personnel from the hazardous area. Life safety always takes precedence over equipment or data.